It is the usual practice to provide some type of interlining material on the inner surface of the front panels of a suit in order to improve the durability and appearance of the suit. Substantially the entire inner surface of the front panel is normally provided with a base canvas or hairpiece, usually formed of knitted or woven fabric, and secured to the inner surface of the front panel by fusion bonding of the fabric thereto. Additionally, the upper or breast portion of the suit front panel is provided with one or more separate layers of interlining material, normally referred to as a chest piece.
In some instances, the interlining chest piece is formed of an inner layer of woven material weighing approximately five to six ounces per square yard, and a separate outer layer of nonwoven fibers weighing approximately two to three ounces per square yard. In other instances, the chest piece is formed of two separate layers of nonwoven fibers with one layer weighing approximately five to six ounces per square yard and the other weighing approximately four ounces per square yard. With either of these chest pieces, it may be desirable to provide an additional wedge of woven material weighing approximately four to five ounces per square yard in the area of the upper extremity of the suit panel in order to provide additonal stiffness and weight or padding to the shoulder area of the front panel.
When chest pieces of this type are formed of two or more separate layers of material, each separate layer of material must be cut to the required shape in a separate cutting operation and the individual layers must be properly positioned relative to each other and to the suit front. This separate cutting and positioning of the layers of material requires skilled workers and adds to the cost of the garment. Also, the individual layers of the chest piece can become wrinkled relative to each other so that they produce an unsightly appearance on the suit front panel. In some instances, moisture may collect in the individual layers during dry cleaning of the garment and may cause a "bubble" appearance on the outer surface of the garment.
In an attempt to overcome the problems inherent with the use of a multilayer chest piece, U.S. Pat. No. 3,098,235 suggests the use of a single-layer chest piece formed of nonwoven fibers. However, this single-layer chest piece of nonwoven fibers is of substantially the same weight as the prior multilayer chest piece, approximately seven to ten ounces per square yard. A single-layer chest piece of nonwoven fibers of this weight is too bulky and thick to provide the proper amount of drape and resiliency to the suit front panel.